STATUES OE THE GODS.
The earliest worship of the Greeks was connected with natural objects and sacred places, and not with sculptural forms. Thus, we find the oak, the willow, the olive, and the laurel associated, respectively, with the wor ship of Zeus, Hera, Athena, and Artemis. Through the waving of its branches and the rustling of its leaves the sacred tree was supposed to reveal the will of the god. That this reverence for trees lingered long in certain places we know from Pausanias, who tells us of the myrtle tree at 13oia! that the inhabitants " still reverence the myrtle tree and call it Artemis Soteira." Shapeless Stones stood, also, as representatives of the gods, and many of these were preserved in the temples as late as the time of Pausanias. He tells us that the Thespians from very early times honored Eros, and that their oldest symbol of him was a rude stone. Sometimes these stones were hewn into geometrical shape, and were set up in the temples in the form of a cone or pyramid or column or pier. They were crowned with garlands, anointed with oil, and even clad with rich vestments.
further stage in the deyelopment.of sculptural representa tions of the gods is marked by the or wooden images, which rudely begin to assume human form. A marble Artemis found in Delos pre serves so strongly the form of a wooden image that it may be taken as an imitation of an ancient xoanon. It is, however, in advance of time most ancient type, which is described as without hands or feet or eves. These wooden statues were painted in vivid colors; their wardrobes sometimes contained precious jewels and richly-embroidered garments.
Acrobttric clothing of wooden images led to a peculiar form of statuary called in which the extremities, the head, hands, and feet, of marble, were attached to a shapeless wooden body which was concealed beneath the drapery. Rude though they were, these ancient images of the gods were held in peculiar reverence by the Greeks even after the sculptor had learned to express himself freely in marble forms.
Stair/es: Zeus of greatest statues of the gods begin to appear in the time of Perikles. Epic poetry had long since prepared the subjects which the sculptor then transformed into imperishable marble. It was reserved for Pheidias to create the typical form of ZEUS, the king of heaven. This he did in the famous statue of ivory and gold in the
Temple of Zeus at Olympia. The nearest representations we have of this statue are to be found in two coins of Elis of the time of Hadrian. One pictures Zeus seated upon his throne with the sceptre in his left hand and the figure of Victory in his right; the other presents the features and ex pression of the profile (pi. S, fic. I), simpler, grander, milder, than the lion-like head from Otricoli which has long been considered the type of the Zeus of Pheidias.
Otricoli bust 6) is the finest marble head of Zeus which 11 is come down to us; but the Carrara marble, the free treatment of the hair, and the restless character of the face are indications of Roman workmanship far remo\ eel from the simple, grand style of the great Greek sculptor.
0/1 /Phi us.—ln Figure 9 (t/. 8) is attempted a restoration of the Ole mpian Zeus in accordance with the accounts given by ancient authors, aided be the monuments. At ( )lympia the supreme divinity sat enthroned as the dispenser of victory in the athletic games which all Greece in com mon celebrated in his honor, and during which a complete armistice pre vailed. Ilis left hand grasped the sceptre of dominion, on which perched the eagle; on his right hand stood the winged goddess of Victory. The head of the god was crowned with the olive, since he himself had over come the wild powers of Nature, the Titans, and had secured order and peace for the universe. The body of the god was of ivory; his garment of gold was adorned with lilies and with animal forms in glistening colors.
The Throne Zeus was of ebony, ivory, gold, and precious stones, and was supported by four pillars which were decorated with figures of dancing goddesses of Victory carved in relief. The pillars were joined halfway up by crosspieces resting like a frieze upon the wall that rose from below. Thanks to this wall, the throne seemed no empty frame work, lint a solid and immovable structure. Columns supported the two beams on which rested the scat; the throne was also provided with rests for the arms. The two rear pillars formed a support for the back, and were surmounted on either side of the god's head, one with the Hours, the other with the Graces.